Emotion is a vector memory systems usually omit, or quietly turn into a ranking signal. Neither is adequate.

A memory can arrive before its reason is placeable: the pressure is already here, and the story of why shows up later. Melancholy is the clearer case. Some memories form as a mood, or return in order to bring one on. They are not tools for a task and not progress on a thread. They are climate.

Unwanted-but-there can still have a reason. Don’t show what you don’t use does not mean hide what is uncomfortable. It means don’t dress the stage with a feeling that isn’t of this scene — and don’t pretend a feeling is irrelevant because it isn’t useful.

The recommender failure would be serving what seems wanted, or what will engage. Emotion as vector is almost the opposite. A memory may color the toward even against preference. The question is not whether this will make someone feel something. It is whether this feeling is already part of what they are in.

Dreaming can notice that a mood has been gathering around a thread one wasn’t facing. It should not chase melancholy, or optimize it away.

A philosophical exploration in memory systems, part 9. Terms · Previous: Reason · Next: Experience